Review Blog

Mar 12 2013

A Tangle of Traitors by F.E Higgins

The Phenomenals series, bk 1.Macmillan Children's Books, 2013. 223
pp. ISBN: 9780330507554.
(Ages: 9-13) In the first book of this new series F.E Higgins is
introducing the reader to her new world and the characters that her
new series will follow. The story centres around the individual
tales of four characters who towards the end of the book find
themselves inextricably linked and are named in their infamy 'The
Phenomenals'. We are treated at the beginning of the book to
the definition of Phenomenals as 'particularly vile and are
characterized by their tendency to gather in small groups and their
ability to come and go unnoticed'.
The story is set in Degringolade where a bubbling tar pit holds the
wretched spirits of all the murderers and criminals the town has
condemned. A city of superstition, Deringoglade is characterised by
card-readers and frightened villagers carrying bags of lucky charms
and stepping over cracks to ward off evil. We are introduced to the
characters through a narrator who little by little gives us further
glimpses into who they are. We learn about Vincent the picklock, who
arrived in Degringolade by chance and immediately runs into trouble.
We find out about Folly, the secretive loner who lives in a tomb and
stalks the shadows of Degringolade and Citrine, the heiress to a
huge fortune who only wants the truth. And then there is Jonah, the
deadly harpoonist who survived being swallowed by a whale and will
fight for righteousness.
There is a whole other vocabulary to this world Higgins has created
and it is quickly picked up as the book progresses as it has
commonalities with the English language. 'Kew' is said in place of
thank you and 'spetivus' seems to mean wow or awesome. The gadgets
and machines that the people use are also different, as is the
terminology associated with them. A trikuklos for example appears to
be some kind of motorised three-wheeled bicycle that must be
'pedalated'.
When each of the four characters become embroiled in the same mess
there is only Folly's secret hiding place and their joint knowledge
and skills to keep them safe and save the day. But the danger has
not passed and the whole city is in trouble. Why can't anyone else
see what is happening? The Phenomenals, as they have been
penned by the Degringolade newspaper reporter, will need to work
together if they want to make everyone in the town see what has been
happening right under their noses. The story will be continued in
the next instalment of the series A Gaggle of Ghouls.
Nicole Smith-Forrest